Reality Check time, people

Ok, So I was selfish, and took some time to myself to do some stuff I wanted to do, after my last update here at the fort - so sue me. Sometimes it’s hard to keep updating this place alone, when you’ve got other things you want to do. I haven’t heard from Bundy-sama in 7 weeks, but he DID tell me he was going on an extended business trip, and may be incommunicado for the duration. Still, it does get lonely here alone, and I’ve been seriously considering bringing in reinforcements to the place. The place gets kinda lonesome when yer a solo act, and the echoes of single footsteps start to do things to your mind. We’ll see what comes up in the next coupla weeks or so.

Well, once again it’s time to do "damage control". I tend to read a LOT of the TF-related pages and message boards out there, even if I don’t post on them. I tend to limit my message board posting in this area to the PF ones - plenty going on there alone, I don’t need to stir up any more controversy elsewhere - I seem to do that well enough when I post here. :P Ok, let’s run down the listing, shall we?

Item#1 - comments I made about Team Assault, in particular, the ones relating to it being "a dark horse". Well, if you’ve done any significent studies of the English language, etc - you’d know EXACTLY what I meant by that, and not get your panties all in a wad about the comment. In politics, a dark horse contender was one who wasn’t viewed by the masses as one favoured to win. One that didn’t get the same exposure and whatnot as the others. It is by no means meant as a slight to the TA team. As I said, I’m looking forward to seeing what they present as their vision of an updated version of QWTF. But it seems that someone read that comment, and ran off to the TA forums with a Chicken Little "the sky is falling" mindset. Goodness, get a grip, ok? Let’s run down the facts that led me to making that statement that TA has some catching-up to do.FACT: Q3F has had 3 test versions that used several clans, to help work on play balance and other issues. And now 2 open Beta releases. TA has none, that I’m aware of.FACT: there are already announcements for no less than 3 Q3F leagues forming up, despite it’s clearly Beta status, with the play balance issues that WILL be occuring. This tends to indicate the level of community support, and feeling towards the Q3F product, in spite of it’s state in it’s own development cycle.FACT: Q3F has gotten some rather positive press in the big 3 Quake webages - Blues News, sCary’s Shugashack, and Redwood’s @Stomped. This has definitely added to it’s visibility in the mainstream DM community, and has brought in an influx of newbies, some good, some bad. I’ve seen some mention of the UTFortress port, too. I can’t recall the last time TA got any press there.

This tends to make things look rosy for Q3F, and not as such for the TA team. What to do about this - don’t ask me. TA already has a very capable PR person on their staff, and I think it should be his job to present their project in the best light they can, and to continue to drum up enthusiasm for it. However, with a dearth of visual goodies, his job is complicated. I’ll sit back and wait to see a product, and review it fairly and objectively against the other products in the community it will be going up against. I wish the best of luck to the TA development team.

Item #2 - this phenomenon, the so-called "Gaming Preservation Official Anti-clan sentiment ". Well, this is a rather interesting issue here. Reminds me quite a bit about the older "True Mercenary" movement, that started with all the impact of a turd in a punchbowl, and eventually worked out ok in the end. Now I don’t know what the real goal of this thing is, and no, I don’t intend to put up a link to it, either. You can get one from all the other newsie pages posting about it - I don’t intend to dignify it with any further attention, myself. The signal to noise ratio at that place is rather low. I’ve only got a coupla comments to make about this entire hullabaloo.1> Asshole clans happen. period. They’re composed of asshole gamers, who seem to naturally gravitate together, like flies to a fresh turd. Labelling ALL clans as bad, because of the actions and behavior of some mental midgets and social retards is nothing short of idiotic, and in the very least extremely closeminded. Which is disturbingly close behavior to the people you’re kvetching about. Hmmmm. Stop and think about that one for a moment, Ace...2> Things like this tend to attract first a bandwagon motion. I just love sheep that cease thinking for themselves."I had a bad experience with some clan people, so I’ll join up with this guy". Gotta love that. Then word get out, and an opposition forms up, and they usually lug over their jumbo-economy-size flamethrowers, and all sorts of logic breaks down, and that’s usually when the signal to noise ratio dives thru the floor. *IF* the original webmaster had ANY sort of intelligent message, it has usually been completely drowned out by this assault, and they usually switch to a more offensive tactic on their main page as a result. Queue the downward spiral here, eh? Then the news pages get hold of this ongoing flamewar, and all the sudden all sorts of people come over, and a small blaze becomes a towering inferno. The actual message gets lost, in favour of the festivities going on that caused all the sensationalism. What gets accomplished as a result? ZERO! Then, sometimes things die down a bit, and some calmer minds try to come in, and do some mitigation/damage control. If it’s still too active, they get flamed as well. Otherwise, some intelligence returns, the noise level recedes, and usually the activity just fades out of the limelight after a while. But we must have our Bread and Circuses first, of course. :P

I’m personally not going to give this den of lunacy anymore publicity that I haven’t at this point. They aren’t worth my time, and quite frankly, I don’t think they’re worth the time being spent posting news about it on the webpages. People who think that all clans are bad, because they have a coupla bad experiences with crappy ones, need to remember how to use their brains and THINK again. But’s it’s so much easier to point a finger and cry foul, isn’t it? Thought denotes taking responsibility, and heaven forbid we be FORCED to take responsibility for our own actions - that comment, BTW, goes to all parties in all issues. It’s just so fitting here. :P

Item#3 - Ok, one to stir the pot here, eh? I haven’t done that in a long time. Right now, the attitude of the TF community in general really sucks. I mean, it’s just pitiful. The public beta release of Q3F had some small part in that. Since it got press in the mainstream DM pages, we got an influx of curious DMBs wondering what all the hoopla was about. I’ll make no bones that I don’t like the DM mindset - all personal glory, nothing for the better of a TEAM. I’ve seen all to many DMers with the " I’ll pwn j00 anytime" attitude, so I tune it out. However, lately on the PF forums at least, I’ve seen the trolls come out in droves. We usually have a fairly friendly environment there, and but the signal/noise level has gone down for a while. And it sucks. Here’s some simple guidelines for life, that all too many people have forgotten: Don’t be a dick. Treat others as you would them to treat you. Simple, ain’t it? If you don’t like people demeaning you, and insulting your intelligence - then DON’T DO IT YOURSELF! Granted, not everyone reading this is acting like preks - in fact, most likely the people that DO bother to read the Fort are NOT preks. It’s just a shame that a small amount of cretins can reduce the enjoyment factor so easily.

Item#4 - and this is a doozy, trust me. All this stupid conjecture and whining about the upcoming TFC patch is just ludicrous. Unless you’re a Valve Beta-tester - and if that is the case, you are SUPPOSED to be under an NDA to not talk about what you see, from my understanding - the ONLY concrete facts we have about this is what Gabe Newell has put out in Press Releases. A recent post on the PF Forums, which seemed to come from Yahn Bernier himself, and does look legit - was not confirmed either. So, the only info we can take as gospel, is what Gabe said - "We’ve decreased the distance a concussion grenade throws you. It’s still possible to do some impressive conc jumps, but you can’t jump from one battlement to the other in 2fort." Now, that’s something Uncle Tot is definitely in favour of. I highly doubt it was EVER the intent of the game designers to allow concjumpers to reach a damned Low Earth Orbit with the bloody things. Myself personally, do NOT like the handheld concjump at all - I remember the old style one from QWTF - that I never quite mastered. You needed practice and skill to pull that off on a regular basis. With the handheld conc, even a scrub like me can fly anywhere. Funny, I don’t recall seeing the scout or medic wearing a jetpack to be able to do it - Oh wait, isn’t that a feature of the AirScout in MegaTF? *grin*And people are complaining about other reputed changes, without having any concrete info to base them on. Folks, the development team at Valve includes Robin Walker and John Cook - 2 of the people that dreamed up and made TF. It’s THEIR game, geez. There are also several mappers from the TF community on board as well. I find it hard to believe that these people would purposely make changes to destroy TFC. They do extensive playtesting to make sure the overall dynamic isn’t made so it’s too mangled. You’ve got to believe they’re NOT going to make arbitrary changes, cause they’re bored, or something, people. But the fact that they did wait so damned long is something I’ll leave alone, for those dark ruminations when I’m deep in my cups. And keeping on this subject, I see on the front page of PF, a story which says, and I quote again: "We’ve received a number of e-mails on a petition going around to stop Valve from releasing the next TFC patch with the no-concussion-jumping fix in it." To which I’ve got but one thing to say - put down the crack pipe and take two steps back, and nobody will get hurt... First, they’ve got the info from Gabe quoted, and I wonder if ANY of them have a clue what the actual changes might really impact. I highly doubt it. Next, their "list" of signing people has many duplicate entries, and ones with bogus info - clean it up, kiddies. If you want it to look logical, reasonable and professional, take the time to do so.Bleh, this is getting out of control. Here’s a tip, ace - whining about stuff you have no concrete idea about exactly makes you look foolish. Just wait until they release the patch, play it for a ferw days, and see what the total change to the game dynamic is. THEN make some intelligent observations based on facts and make your protests then. Until you have that hard data, try not to embaress yourselves too much, hmm ??

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn’t fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn’t. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Now, I’m not asking you all to get all gung-ho and patriotic all the sudden - entirely too much to ask in this day and age. All I’d like, is for you readers to take a brief moment to consider the character of these brave men, and ask yourself "would I have the same strength of will to stand up for my beliefs like they did?" These men were soldiers too, fighting for what they believed in, and many paid a horrible price. They fought not only for themselves, but for their families, their neighbors - for everyone who believed in that way of life. They were all heroes, and not all got monuments or holidays named after themselves. Very few real heroes get the accolades they deserve. The common soldier, or policeman, fireman, paramedic, schoolteacher, father, mother - these folks are heroes too. They fight their own battles every day - stalwart, not complaining, doing the best they can all the time, whenever they are needed.

America does NOT have a monopoly on heroes, either. The soldiers of all countries are viewed as heroes by their people, whether it’s the USA, Canada, England, France, Germany, Israel, Russia, Italy - or any other country. Their members serve to protect the way of life of the people of their beloved homelands, whether they have mandatory service, or they are volunteers. In wartime or in peace, they stand ready to defend. The same is true of all the other people I mentioned above - they all do their part, what they see as their duty. And I salute them all.

So, with all this rambling, what exactly is Tot trying to say? Yes, it is Independence Day here in America - but even if you are not a citizen of the USA, take a moment today, to think to yourself of someone you consider a hero, who gave of themselves for the betterment of other people. And if you can’t thank them in person - thank them in your head, for what they did, and might continue to do. It won’t take long, and you might discover something about yourself you never knew before, while doing it. And to all the people that read what I rant about here - I thank you as well.